Thursday, September 19, 2013

Senior Doctors vs Junior Doctors

The first thing you notice when you enter any senior doctor’s clinic is ailing patients waiting along with their relatives for their turn. The problem is that doctors routinely make patients wait for hours on end . Despite being unhappy about the long wait , people still wait patiently, because they desperately want a few minutes of the doctor’s attention.

The truth is that these senior doctors can afford to make their patients wait for as long as they do because they know their patients will not move out from their waiting room . It makes me wonder why patients are willing to wait so patiently to see a senior doctor without any complaints. After all, there isn’t any dearth of doctors in India ! The irony here is that there are much better qualified doctors around , who are more efficient and can see patients more quickly, because they aren’t so swamped and overloaded. However, most patients prefer to see a ‘famous’ doctor , as compared to a well qualified doctor , just because he does not have the same brand image.

Why are patients willing to put up with such bad behaviour from these famous doctor? This is because when people are sick, they are scared and want the best medical attention possible. The problem is that in our country, people believe that a good doctor is someone who others say is good. People go by the doctor’s “market” reputation, because they cannot judge his technical expertise themselves. This is why doctors with the reputation of being ‘good’ get so many more patients, as compared to other doctors who may be technically superior, but not as well known.

Since there are so many patients and only a few reputed doctors, the queue is endless. This also becomes a major challenge for new doctors who are starting out fresh . Where do they get their patients from ? Most Indians opt for experience over qualification , and are hesitant to go to new doctors. They prefer senior doctors with an established name.

An ethical way for new doctors to grow their patient base is to own a website , where patients and their relatives can learn about the doctor’s expertise and relevant qualifications. New doctors have more spare time, and they can make good use of this, by offering online second opinions, which provide the patient with an insight into the doctor’s expertise . If a doctor answers queries promptly and accurately, patients are going to be impressed, and are much more predisposed to selecting this doctor for their medical care.

The online platform allows doctors to bypass the middleman and reach out to patients directly. This will improve transparency and improve the doctor-patient relationship. Even better, since young doctors are much more computer-friendly than the older generation, they can take advantage of their online skills to steal a march over their seniors , and level the playing field !

Are you unhappy that your IVF doctor makes you wait for hours ? Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/malpaniform.htm so that I can provide you with a better solution !